A Friend Like You, A Son Like You
by ForeverAnimated
Summary: My first MTR fanfic! After his little time travel adventure with his dad, Wilbur finds out that their relationship as father and son is a lot stronger. THIS IS NOT SLASH!


**Author's Notes:**

**So I finally tried my hand at a MTR fanfic. ****After watching the movie over and over, I had this nagging feeling in the back of my brain telling me to write at least one fanfiction for this awesome movie. And, like most of my nagging ideas, this one would just not leave.**

**This is my first ever attempt at a MTR fic, and I figured it would be a cool idea to show sort of an epilogue to the movie. I guess the one question that was bothering me after the movie was, "Now that Wilbur has met his younger father, and Lewis has met his future son, what will their relationship as father and son be like now?" I imagined that it would go something like this.**

**I must warn you, being that this is an epilogue, it HAS SPOILERS. So, in the words of Steven Anderson, "If you haven't watched this movie yet ... first of all, shame on you." And secondly, you shouldn't be reading this fanfic.**

**I guess that's all of the introduction I can think of to write at the moment. I really appreciate reviews, even constructive criticism, because every writer needs it. So, read, enjoy, and please review!**

**Oh, and one more thing. The stuff in italics is the stuff that happened in the movie. Sort of a recap.**

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**A Friend Like You, A Son Like You**

**By Christian Ninja Rabbit**

_Floating through the air and glistening in the sun, the shiny, bright red time machine descended upon the dirty old rooftop of the 6th Street Orphanage. The engine slowly powered down, and the glass roof opened up. Young Lewis hopped out, and his future son Wilbur followed slowly._

_What Wilbur had just witnessed was something really strange. Well, the whole situation was strange: meeting his father as a young boy, being chased around by a dinosaur, and then being wiped from existence ... even if it only was for a few minutes. But despite those things that had made the day out-of-the-ordinary, what he had just seen was sort of a shocker. He had watched with bated breath as Lewis, his young father, had walked up the steps of that very orphanage they were now on the roof of, and had reached out to touch his birth mother - the mother that he had never knew. But as his hand had gone out, he stopped suddenly and brought it back. He glanced at his hand, then at his mother, exhaled slowly and walked away. He had just walked away from the only chance he really had of meeting her and finding out who she was, why she had given him up, and what would have been if she hadn't._

_Wilbur didn't get it; it just didn't make sense. Why would Lewis just throw away a chance like that? Not just a chance, but the chance he had been waiting for all his life. Why would he let her go?_

_These questions had been burning in the mind of the youngest Robinson. He turned to face his father, who placed the Memory Scanner down on the floor._

_Wilbur spoke up for the first time in quite a while. "I don't get it," he asked, and Lewis turned to face him. "Why'd you just let her go?"_

_Lewis smiled softly, his blue eyes sparkling from behind his glasses. He wasn't really sure of the reason before, but he knew now: that reason was standing right in front of him._

_"Because," Lewis said, "because I already have a family."_

_Wilbur blinked at what Lewis had just said. Lewis just kept smiling. Wilbur then realized it all. Lewis's future would be amazing, and Lewis had seen it for himself. Not only was his future amazing, but his family would be as well. And that had been what Lewis was looking for all along - a family that would love him in the quirky, eccentric way that only the Robinsons could._

_Just then, very suddenly, Lewis enveloped his future son in a hug. Wilbur was startled at first, paused for a moment, and happily returned the hug. _

_"I never thought my dad would be my best friend," Wilbur remarked softly. He could almost feel his eyes beginning to tear up, but he blinked those tears away, because everyone knows that Wilbur Robinson does not cry._

_"Now don't make me come and bail you out again," Wilbur said jokingly, pulling out of the hug and reaching for the paper in his pocket. He handed it to Lewis, who glanced at it; tt was the blueprints for the Memory Scanner, which Wilbur had found in fragments in the time machine's backseat and had repaired with tape._

_Lewis returned Wilbur's smile. "I won't," he said._

_"Remember, I've got a time machine," Wilbur pointed at Lewis, "and if you mess up again, I'll just keep comin' back 'til you get it right."_

_Lewis chuckled at this, and Wilbur hopped into the time machine._

_"You got that motto?" Wilbur asked._

_"I got it," Lewis confirmed._

_"Don't forget it," Wilbur added._

_"I don't think that's possible," Lewis said, reaching down for the Memory Scanner._

_Wilbur paused, smiling at his dad. Then he gestured toward the door, "You better get goin'." Reaching for the ignition, Wilbur turned the key, and the time machine whirred to life._

_Lewis walked forward, glancing back over his shoulder at his future son. "See ya later, Wilbur."_

_The time machine lifted off the roof slowly, and then, gathering speed, it soared into the sky. As Lewis was about to open the door, he heard honking coming from above. He glanced up and saw the following words written in the sky:_

_SEE YA LATER, DAD_

_After completing his message, Wilbur climbed higher and higher in the sky. Down on the roof, Lewis could see a circle of colored lights surround the time machine, until finally it was engulfed in one single bright flash of light. And then, as quickly as it came, it was gone..._

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When the bright flash of light faded, Wilbur peered down at the city beneath him, and breathed a sigh of relief. There were no giant robots, no air pollution, and nothing disappearing. Everything was as it should be.

As he steered the time machine through the crystal blue sky of Todayland, Wilbur suddenly realized where he was headed. He was going home; more specifically, he was going to face his family, and they would most likely be very angry with him. His mother's words echoed through his head, "Mister, you're grounded ... 'till you die."

The gravity of the situation crashed down on Wilbur. There was no escaping it now: He had left the garage door open; he had tried to take things into his own hands by heading into his father's past. He pushed Lewis off a roof - wincing, Wilbur realized how this probably wasn't the best idea - and then took him into the future. Not to mention how he had lied to Lewis about taking him back to see his mom ...

"That's it. I'm dead. Call up the hearse to take me away now." Wilbur proclaimed over-dramatically. He briefly considered changing his course and flying off somewhere to escape punishment, but he abandoned that idea. Knowing how his dad was a genius, he was sure that his dad could probably track him down and find him eventually. It would just prolong the pain

The time machine was hovering over the Robinson mansion now. He looked down and saw the entire Robinson family standing outside the house, awaiting his return. Shifting gears, Wilbur descended into the lush green turf of the immense backyard. The glass door opened, and Wilbur hopped out.

Yep, his whole family, plus their new pet dinosaur Tiny, was there. He trudged forward slowly, like a criminal heading his way to the gallows.

Suddenly, his head shot up, and he flashed a disarming and hopeful smile. "Hey! So, what's new?"

"Wilbur, I'd like to have a talk with you in the garage," Cornelius spoke up firmly, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Wilbur's smile faded; those were the words he dreaded to hear.

"Actually Dad," Wilbur said, slowly backing away, "I just remembered I have to ... take out the garbage. Yeah, and we all know that I..."

"Do as your father tells you," Franny interrupted sternly. She was standing next to her husband, hands on her hips, as she glared at her disobedient son.

Wilbur deflated. Shoulders sagging, and head facing down, he followed his father as they walked toward the garage door. As they entered, Wilbur couldn't help but think, "Stupid door, this is all your fault! If you shut like you were supposed to, I wouldn't be in this mess." But then again, Wilbur knew he wasn't fooling himself. There was no one to blame here but himself. He sighed.

"Wilbur, sit down," his father directed, gesturing toward an old wooden chair in the corner.

Wilbur shot him a withered, tired look. "C'mon, Dad. Just get it over with. Just yell at me and ground me for however long you like." Wilbur sighed and glanced at the floor, "Dad," he said slowly, "I'm ... really sorry. I know you don't think I'll ever learn and that I'm just a disappointment to you. But ... after seeing what you went through, after really meeting you, well ... you were really a cool kid, and you became my friend. And I really didn't want to hurt you, but ... ," Wilbur's voice lowered. He sank into the chair and covered his face with his hands. "I guess I deserve what's coming to me."

Cornelius didn't speak for a while. When Wilbur looked up, he was surprised to find tears in his father's eyes. Taking off his glasses, Cornelius wiped his eyes with his hand.

Wilbur leaned forward, "Dad," he began unsurely, "Dad ... are you okay?"

Cornelius put his glasses back on his face and cleared his throat. It still took him a while to find his voice.

"Wilbur," he said shakily.

"What is it, Dad?" Wilbur rose out of the chair slowly.

"Wilbur, I'm ..." he took a deep breath and began again, firmly this time, "Wilbur, I'm not mad at you." Cornelius said, as he put his hand on his son's shoulder.

"What?"

"I'm not mad at you, Wilbur. I've missed you." Cornelius admitted.

"Missed me?" Wilbur was confused. "Dad, what are you talking about? I've only been gone for a few minutes since I took Lewis ... err, I mean, you back to the past. How could you miss me?"

Cornelius's hand slid off his son's shoulder and he shook his head slowly. "You don't understand what I mean."

"Then, what do you mean?"

"What I mean is... well, I know it may have seemed like only five minutes ago... you know, when you dropped me back at the orphanage."

"Dad, it was five minutes ago. Well, at least that's an estimate. If you're looking for exact time, I wouldn't be able to ..."

"To you it may be," Cornelius gently interrupted his son. "But think what it was like for me, Lewis." He paused to try and let it sink in, then continued. "To me, it was about seventeen years without my friend Wilbur, and when I saw him again..." Cornelius slowed, "He was my son."

Wilbur was amazed. "Wow, that's really ... weird."

Cornelius nodded. "It was. But do you want to know what the strangest thing was?"

"What?" Wilbur asked.

"I watched you grow, and I watched you learn how to walk and talk. I watched you grow up and go to school. It was kind of strange, but even though I knew you in the past, I could only think of you as my son. And suddenly, one day - I think it was your thirteenth birthday - I realized that I was looking at my best friend who I hadn't seen in seventeen years. But up until this point, you had no knowledge of our friendship."

"Wait a minute," Wilbur interrupted suddenly, "You've lost me. How could I not remember who you were?"

"It's a simple concept," Cornelius explained, "When you last saw me, I still had to go through the rest of my life." Cornelius paused and chuckled a little bit, "Can you really see me trying to explain to you as a four-year-old that I had met you when I was twelve and you were thirteen?"

Wilbur's eyes widened. "So, you're saying that, all of a sudden ... just now, you've finally been able to talk to me about our adventure, because I have just lived it."

Cornelius smiled softly and nodded, "Correct."

Wilbur was still kind of shocked, though he realized that he hadn't really thought about it; it made sense. He smacked his face with his palm. "Ugh, time travel hurts my brain."

Cornelius chuckled at Wilbur's joke, the same way he chuckled at him back on the roof of that orphanage.

Wilbur glanced up slowly, "But I still don't get how this lets me off the hook. I mean, aside from the fact that it would feel awkward to ground your best friend."

Cornelius put his hand to his chin. He had so much to say, and he tried to find a way that he could make his son comprehend it. "Wilbur," he started, "You have to understand. Back at the orphanage, I really didn't have any friends." He stopped, and considered for a moment, stroking his chin, "Well, no. That wouldn't be true. Goob was sort of my friend." He glanced back at his son. "But what I mean is, I didn't really have a friend like you. Nobody at my school really seemed to understand me. Maybe this was because I was slightly more, um, advanced than they were."

"That's a bit of an understatement," Wilbur remarked.

"Yeah, maybe," his father smiled, "Anyway, I really didn't have anybody who understood why I liked inventing. Everybody thought I was a nerd. Which, I guess I am." Wilbur was probably about to say something more, but Cornelius continued. "But nobody ever wanted to encourage me. Nobody really had faith in me. So I felt kind of unwanted."

"I can see how you felt that way," Wilbur replied.

"I did feel that way, until the day you showed up." Cornelius' face broke into a big grin. "You were a very hyper kid and you didn't care what others thought about you. I kind of admired that. You realized that I was lacking a bit in the self-confidence department, and you were just the kind of friend I needed at that point in my life." Cornelius' voice became lower. "You gave me pep-talks that I desperately needed. Your optimism was contagious. But more importantly, you were there for me when it mattered."

Wilbur had been listening very intently up until this comment was made. "But Dad, I wasn't. Don't you see? I lied to you. I played you. I was downright mean."

"True, Wilbur. You did lie to me. But you knew that you had to make things right in the end, even though you realized that it might cost you your existence. You gave me the chance to meet my mom." Wilbur noticed that his dad's eyes were beginning to tear up again to, and he was surprised to feel somewhat teary-eyed as well.

Cornelius paused a minute before continuing. "Wilbur, we had a great adventure. I learned more than I ever did before in my life, because of you. You gave me motivation and confidence. You were a great friend."

"And I still am, Dad." Wilbur said quietly, blinking back tears.

"I know you are," Cornelius smiled, tears of happiness now running freely down his face.

And just at that moment, the two embraced each other. They were just silently hugging, until Wilbur broke the silence.

It felt kind of awkward saying this to his "best friend", but he said it anyway. "Love ya, Dad."

Cornelius smiled, hugging Wilbur tighter. "I love you too, son."

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**Okay, so as they say in show business, that's a wrap. (At least, I think they do say that in show business. I wouldn't really know because, unfortunately, I haven't been in a professional show business.) Anywho, my biggest fear concerning this story is that it got a little rushed at the end, or that some of the characters may be OOC. That's why I really need some reviews so I can be sure.**

**I don't really know, but I have a feeling that I will be writing some more MTR fanfics in the future. (Hahaha, _the future...)_ Ahem. Anyway, you should probably keep a lookout for those.**

**And if you liked this story, check out my profile for fanfics from other fandoms. **

**Christian Ninja Rabbit **


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